Go local

June 16, 2009

While it’s still extremely important to go green, going local is all the rage right now (though the two often go hand-in-hand). And why shouldn’t it be?

Going local means better, healthier food, a wider range of choices, better service, more jobs and a host of other benefits—we’ve listed 10 of them for your review. More specifically, the studio is interested in how our clients—colleges, universities and independent schools—are reaching out to their communities.

We know, for example, that Westover School has a Frugal Lunch program that benefits local food pantries. For one day every month, students, faculty and staff at this all-girls boarding school eat bread and soup and donate what they would have eaten to a local soup kitchen.

Clark University, meanwhile, has long partnered with the Worcester Public School System in Massachusetts. The university even co-founded and helps run University Park Campus School, an award-winning high school. Clark’s involvement extends to other community areas as well: in collaboration with the Main South Community Development Corporation, the institution has helped renovate hundreds of housing units and sold houses to first-time home-buyers.

How has your institution made connections within the local community? Has community engagement helped with student recruitment or donor participation? If yes, how so?